Unit History: Royal Army Ordnance Corps

The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. It dealt only with the supply and maintenance of weaponry, munitions and other military equipment until 1965, when it took over most other supply functions, as well as the provision of staff clerks, from the Royal Army Service Corps.

The RAOC was organised into companies. Although they were not formally organised into a battalion, the RAOC units of a division were collected under a headquarters and a commander known as the Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (DADOS). Officers with the designations of Assistant Director of Ordnance Services (ADOS) and Deputy Director of Ordnance Services (DDOS) served at corps level and above. The Director of Ordnance Services (DOS), a Major-General, was the head of ordnance at the War Office in London. After World War II, RAOC companies were formally collected into battalions.